We’ve Moved!

Another Bremerton beach house bites the dust

That little blue house perched under the Manette Bridge
is soon to be demolished.

The Bremerton City Council recently approved purchasing the home
for $132,000, plus closing costs, and for the residence to be torn
down.

It’s one of the
few waterfront homes left. There was a day when the Bremerton
waterfront was filled with such beach houses. They’ve been slowly
disappearing over time. One particular day in 1990, eight of
them were condemned by the city after one collapsed.

The reason you also don’t see many today is because state
environmental regulations forbid building over Puget Sound. Only
one now remains habitable on the Bremerton waterfront,
which I wrote about last year.

The reason for the demolition this time around has to do with
the city’s sewer system.

As part of the
Washington Avenue project, an aging and problematic sewer line
along the beach — between the boardwalk and Manette Bridge — will
be closed down. Instead, sewer systems in houses along Washington
Avenue now have “grinder” pumps, which pull sewage up into lines
being constructed on Washington, rather than falling to the beach
line below.

To install a grinder pump to the little home at 646 Washington
would’ve cost around $40,000, Bremerton Public Works Director Chal
Martin told the City Council. And in buying the house, the city
will have a small slice of waterfront that could one day be
developed.

“It could be beach access in the future,” Martin said.

The other reason the city bought it: officials said the house
would give them something called “mitigation credits.” That’s a
fancy way of saying that in the future, if there are objections to
a city project for environmental reasons, the city could proceed
with the project anyway because it mitigated environmental problems
elsewhere.

Only Councilman Roy Runyon objected to the purchase, while the
other six on the Council approved it. Runyon said he did not
believe it was worth the city’s money.

UPDATE: Martin told me Friday that the home couldn’t be moved
because it just wasn’t “economically viable.” Also, the city has
condemned the yellow house that remains on the beach but there’s no
timetable yet for demolition. The other beach house — soon the lone
one left — will remain.

4 thoughts on “Another Bremerton beach house bites the dust”

I see…they have $135,000 to waste on this shack but they “can’t afford” a street light to help protect the TAX PAYING citizens from the welfare state they have created and endorsed. This city council is really arrogant.

Hmm. seems like Nickel Brothers moving could barge it to a new lot as long as it’s still in salvageable condition.. ? is that a possibility? Hate seeing homes being demolished that just need a bit of TLC and a new lot 😉

Cheers for the City Council. There is a delightful beach walk between Evergreen Park and the Marina downtown. I’ve walked it and taken family along it many times. Establishing beach walk access half way along that walk is a triumph and cheap at twice the cost. Not many citys have such a nice beach walk. I hope Bremerton will always treasure and preserve it.